11 October 2012
Reading could be the key to fitness
Visitors to this year's Dundee Literary Festival will have the chance to try out a revolutionary new work-out programme that promises participants real results by training for only short periods at a time.
Reading and exercise may not always be seen as the most obvious companions, but a series of events at this year's festival have set will show how the two can complement each other with a series of events dedicated to sports books.
This includes the launch of The High Intensity Workout, a book published by Dundee University Press that scientifically shows that the key to fitness is to train smarter, not harder.
The book, written by Dr Ross Lorimer and Dr John Barbraj from the University of Abertay Dundee, examines how short bursts of high intensity exercise can prove more effective than time-demanding programmes. The launch event, taking place at the University of Dundee's Institute for Sport and Exercise, will give guests the chance to try a high intensity workout for themselves.
The authors will also discuss how a workout lasting no more than 15 minutes has been shown to improve both fitness and health, the mental challenges of engaging in this type of exercise programme and the psychological gains that can be made.
Dr Lorimer, whose research expertise lies in the psychological aspects of sports coaching, said, "High intensity exercise is time effective, physically demanding, and can make a real difference to a person's performance.
"Short bursts of intense activity may have similar mental benefits to longer duration exercise and can potentially improve an individual's mood and confidence as well as reducing their level of stress."
Tickets for the event, which takes place at ISE at 10am on Sunday, 28th October, cost £3 and £2 for concessions. Anyone wishing to try a workout for themselves should bring suitable clothing and footwear.
Adventurer, documentary maker and author Mark Beaumont will discuss his books - and exploits - when he appears at the festival on Thursday, 25th October. In 2007/08, he broke the world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe by bicycle before going on to climb the highest peaks in North and South America during an epic journey from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.
He has filmed three BBC documentaries and written two books, and his passion for adventure will be evident in his illustrated talk. Tickets for the talk, which begins at 4pm, are free.
The addictiveness of running will be examined by Geoff and Ben Beattie and Phil Hewitt. Geoff, a successful academic and celebrity psychologist, was obsessed with his career and running to the point that it threatened to destroy his relationship with his son Ben.
Ironically, it was running that brought them back together, and their story is recounted in the emotional Chasing Lost Times. Phil Hewitt has completed over 25 marathons on conditions ranging from blistering heat to snow and ice. His addiction to running the most challenging of road races is covered in Keep On Running, which he will discuss when he appears in Dundee with Geoff and Ben.
Taking place at 3pm on Saturday, 27th October, the event costs £3/£2.
For those whose sporting enjoyment is derived through watching rather than participating, there is a treat the following day when football writing - both fact and fiction - will be discussed by Rodge Glass, Graham Hunter and Richard Wilson.
Graham Hunter's unprecedented access to the stars of the Nou Camp resulted in his acclaimed behind-the-scenes book, Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World.
The Old Firm rivalry and the role that football plays in working-class life in Scotland is explored in Richard Wilson's Inside the Divide, and Rodge Glass's Bring Me The Head of Ryan Giggs is a fictional account of a footballer who manages just one game for Manchester United before his life spirals out of control.
The three authors will be discussing football and their writing at 3pm on Sunday, 28th October. Tickets cost £3/£2.
The 2012 Dundee Literary Festival is the biggest to date, with a total of 42 events scheduled to take place from October 24th-28th. Leading figures from the world of fiction, poetry, journalism, comics and the publishing industry will take part in a series of workshops, talks, book signings, and readings.
For more information about all Literary Festival events, or to buy tickets, please visit www.literarydundee.co.uk. Tickets are also available from Literary Dundee, 6th floor, Tower Building, University of Dundee, tel 01382 384413.
All events take place in Bonar Hall, unless otherwise stated.
For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07800 581902 |
